Travel Theme: WHITE

Friday is the UN’s International Day of Peace, so in honor of that, Ailsa at Where’s My Backpack? chose this Travel Theme. And for those who believe in putting peace into practice, remember that peace begins on your plate–go vegan! (It’s easy, fun, gratifying and healthy–check out Vegan Outreach and The Perfect Formula Diet)

Fun fact: All these pictures come from one road trip I took in January of 2009; from the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California through the Mojave Desert and Death Valley, west out to Highway 395, then north through the Owens Valley and Mono Basin past Mammoth Lakes, and finally west through the El Dorado National Forest to San Francisco; all of this in a mere two and a half days, close to 700 miles. I hope you enjoy a few of the scenes from my wintery eastern California adventures!

Death Valley’s Badwater Basin salt flats, lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level; in the background, stark white clouds are poised above the 10,000-plus-foot snowcapped peaks of the Panamint Mountains.

The stark beauty of the Owens Valley and its nearly sheer wall of the eastern Sierra Nevadas.

Snow and volcanic dirt walking up the side of Panum Crater next to Mono Lake.

Thank you….yes, it’s breathtaking, mesmerizing, ethereal, and so many more words that don’t do it justice–not even pictures do it justice. Only being there can you begin to grasp the fantastical nature of its stark landscapes and stunning geology and colors.